Flaubert's Parrot Chapter 10 Summary

Chapter 10 Summary

Braithwaite states that there are two kinds of people: the kind that want to know the worst, and the kind that do not want to know anything. He wanted to know the worst about Ellen, his wife, because he loved her. She believed only the best about him. So it is with beloved authors, and Flaubert has often been upbraided by his admirers for what they see as faults. Braithwaite enumerates and defends those faults:

That Flaubert hated humanity—No, he was unimpressed by it. He was devoted to his family and his friends. He just didn't pay his respects to humankind generally.

That he hated democracy—He preferred the Chinese model of enlightened oligarchy. He...